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Neville Norton
In Biggles Takes It Rough, Neville Norton was the leader of the gang which operated an illegal whiskey distillery on the remote Scottish island of Tola. The island also served as a hideout for criminals on the run from the police. Prior to the events in the book, Norton had specialised in robbing lorry loads of whiskey on the Great North Road. For this he had been caught and sentenced to three years in prison. During his imprisonment, he must have concluded that it was easier to operate his own distillery instead of robbing whiskey from others. Soon after, he began to put his plan into action. A few weeks after his release, Norton was believed to have assisted in the escape of three prisoners who were still serving their time. Among them was one Larkin, a man he had specially picked because of his experience in operating a whiskey distillery. Norton also had a friend who owned a string of night-clubs in London. This friend provided the capital for the venture for a share in the profits. His night-clubs would serve as the distribution channel for the raw whiskey. In addition, he was a pilot and owned a light aircraft which would provide Norton with a ready form of transport to the location of his secret distillery. Norton also brought in a Scot by the name of Duncan who provided the local knowledge for the venture. Having gathered his gang, Norton set up on the remote island of Tola among the Outer Hebrides. The island had once been inhabited and featured a small castle, the cellars of which became a convenient location for the illegal still. A local fishing boat delivered supplies and raw materials for the still and collected the whiskey while the night-club owner's light aircraft flew people on and off the island as necessary. Either at the same time or later, Norton added the sideline of using the island as a refuge for criminals on the run. According to Larkin, this refugee population was transient. Some of the fugitives had hidden there for a while and then moved on because they did not like the harsh location although he didn't know where--that part of the enterprise was handled by Norton. After operating for about six months, Norton's venture hit a snag when the island's owner, Roderick Macaster decided to make a survey of the place with the intention of developing it either is a resort or to turn it into a viable community. On the night that Macaster was there in his cabin cruiser, he heard an aircraft land and take off. Macaster reported this to Scotland Yard and Biggles was sent to investigate. Norton might still have kept his operation hidden and wait out Biggles' inquiries but he chose to act in a manner which gang members such as Larkin would later consider rash. Macaster had been sent two days ahead in his cabin cruiser with supplies for Biggles' party which would arrive by helicopter. Rather than leaving well alone, Norton chose to sink Macaster's boat. He also opened and drank a bottle of beer which Macaster had left on the beach. These actions proved to Biggles that someone was definitely on the island. In addition, Algy was able to take the empty beer bottle back to Scotland Yard where fingerprint experts established Norton's identity definitively. Norton was finally arrested along with the rest of his gang by Biggles and Gaskin at the end of the book. Category:People Category:Biggles characters Category:Air Police era characters